Self Driving car death

[Ripster42]

Isn't that half the point of autopilot? To have the machine handle it while you do other stuff?

No. You're supposed to remain attentive while driving. They clearly state when you test drive the car that you must remain attentive, even with auto-pilot on.

[The Stormbringer]

No. You're supposed to remain attentive while driving. They clearly state when you test drive the car that you must remain attentive, even with auto-pilot on.

I don't mean for this specific model, I meant for autopilot in general. The idea is that something else is taking care of the driving. We're not ready for it with cars, at least not completely, since we lack a proper network that can better track things.

[Bigbazz]

I really hope this one accident doesn't make people start questioning the viability of self-driving cars. Bigger picture - it's a much, MUCH safer system.

I really hope people don't get too carried away with self driving cars, driving a car is a privelege and a pleasure that should never be taken away.

[Ripster42]

I don't mean for this specific model, I meant for autopilot in general. The idea is that something else is taking care of the driving. We're not ready for it with cars, at least not completely, since we lack a proper network that can better track things.

Ya, the goal is for self-driving cars to drive themselves. Tesla doesn't have those. They don't claim they have those. Which is why this story is kinda dumb, and to base legal decisions on self driving cars on an instance where an idiot who wasn't driving a self driving car killed himself is also stupid.

That's not to say I'm not all for liability to get worked out and codified. But this story is dumb.

[Bigbazz]

Ya, the goal is for self-driving cars to drive themselves. Tesla doesn't have those. They don't claim they have those. Which is why this story is kinda dumb, and to base legal decisions on self driving cars on an instance where an idiot who wasn't driving a self driving car killed himself is also stupid.

That's not to say I'm not all for liability to get worked out and codified. But this story is dumb.

Tesla has autopilot, how is that not self driving?

[Elegiac]

Tesla has autopilot, how is that not self driving?

'Autopilot' in the sense that it will take care of a lot of the minor attendant aspects like staying centered in a lane, braking, cruise control, et cetera.

[Annoying]

I don't mean for this specific model, I meant for autopilot in general. The idea is that something else is taking care of the driving. We're not ready for it with cars, at least not completely, since we lack a proper network that can better track things.

But you've misunderstood what it's for. It's not a self-driving car. It's explained quite clearly in all cases that you're supposed to still pay full attention to the road with auto-pilot engaged. Again, they make it really clear that it's not a self-driving car, and if you're driving on a public road, you have to be in control of your car.

Tesla has autopilot, how is that not self driving?

Because they show quite clearly that their autopilot system has nothing to do with self-driving. It keeps you in your lane and can adjust your cruise control on-the-fly, but that doesn't mean it's self-driving and can get you to a destination while you watch a movie and aren't paying attention.

[Bigbazz]

Fair enough

[Takure]

"Against a bright spring sky, the car’s sensors system failed to distinguish a large white 18-wheel truck and trailer crossing the highway, Tesla said. The car attempted to drive full speed under the trailer, “with the bottom of the trailer impacting the windshield of the Model S”, Tesla said in a blogpost."

The Tesla failed because it couldn't distinguish the truck from the sky and it drove under the truck and decapitated the dude. So if this was a normal car driven by a man, the man would've stopped or swerved and he'd still be living.

This is why I'll never trust self-driving cars. Show me any computer system in today's world that doesn't have bugs, doesn't freeze, that works flawlessly, etc. I'm not putting my entire life in the hands of a computer.

The irony is real.

[Masark]

Tesla has autopilot, how is that not self driving?

The "autopilot" function is just a combination of adaptive cruise control (matches the speed of traffic), automatic lane centring (helps keep you in the middle of the lane), and automatic braking (detects objects ahead and automatically hits the brakes if you don't).

It still requires a human with their hands on the wheel and feet at the pedals, paying attention and controlling the vehicle.

[Hotmail]

Guy was all but collecting speeding tickets. Play with the devil and you get the bern.

[Shanseala]

"Against a bright spring sky, the car’s sensors system failed to distinguish a large white 18-wheel truck and trailer crossing the highway, Tesla said. The car attempted to drive full speed under the trailer, “with the bottom of the trailer impacting the windshield of the Model S”, Tesla said in a blogpost."

The Tesla failed because it couldn't distinguish the truck from the sky and it drove under the truck and decapitated the dude. So if this was a normal car driven by a man, the man would've stopped or swerved and he'd still be living.

This is why I'll never trust self-driving cars. Show me any computer system in today's world that doesn't have bugs, doesn't freeze, that works flawlessly, etc. I'm not putting my entire life in the hands of a computer.

That may be true, but think of all the reasons that cause car-related deaths in the world today. Humans are fallible too. Whether that be because of lack of sleep, intoxication, slow reflexes, poor judgement, or just plain distraction/focus loss, people are also likely to have "bugs in the system."

https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api...ication/812115

About 94% of all crashes are caused by driver error, as opposed to just 2% from a defect in the vehicle. Vehicle manufacturers do try to make sure their car is safe, because of regulations and because if the car isn't safe they aren't going to sell any. So sure, there may be bugs once in a long while, but bugs in a human are much harder to fix than bugs in a machine. As long as the chance of death is lowered compared to having humans drive, especially by such a significant amount as is projected, and as long as they continuously test to try to find those bugs so they remain few and far between, we will benefit from this technology.

[Ayla]

Sadly I don't believe this will be the last of these type of incidents. Cars cannot plan for everything so a human always needs to be able to intervene. I had said in a thread about autonomous driving can never fully be trusted. But glare now should be part of regular testing, and this death will make autonomous driving safer in the end. One down, infinity to go. Next up: rolling fog or avalanche? Slow down and let the human figure it out

edit: I find it strange glare in itself is a problem as I thought these types of cars had distance sensors, albeit vehicle height is also a concern for me

[kail]

Well for one, that is not a self driving car nor does it have the capabilities to even get close to that same level. As tragic as the death is, I somewhat expect such things to happen even with actual driverless cars. Doesn't mean we should suddenly stop pursuing the move IMO. Human drivers cause more than enough needless deaths with erroneous driving.

[Torgent]

Didn't Tesla claim he was blindsided and would have died whether using autopilot or otherwise?

That's what it sounds like from the article at least.

No, they said that the white siding of the truck mixed with the brightness of the reflection interfered with the sensors picking up the truck.

They also said that this was the first death in 130 million miles of automated driving. That number seems very high, but if they say it's true, I can't really say it's not.

[Seramore]

the best part about this incident is that people are screaming "self driving cars won't work" despite the fact that this is the first death... compared to the countless deaths caused by people controlling cars.

and from the looks of the story, while it's true that the vehicle did malfunction, it also seems like it was still ultimately caused by the truck driver.

[Adam Jensen]

Self-driving car deaths ARE going to happen. The question is, aside from "how do we deal with it?" is, "are these cars still statistically safer than human drivers?" If so, then we should continue to develop and improve this technology.

[Gsara]

Tesla autopilot is not a self driving car and they have never claimed or advertised it that way so the title of the thread is misleading.

"Tesla requires drivers to remain engaged and aware when Autosteer is enabled. Drivers must keep their hands on the steering wheel."
https://www.teslamotors.com/presskit/autopilot

[Ripster42]

Tesla has autopilot, how is that not self driving?

Planes have auto-pilot. They're not self flying. They require pilots to remain at the stick.

Auto-pilot doesn't mean what you think it means.

[Wildtree]

I'm almost inclined to say:
that's why you leave making cars to actual car makers.
almost..

But it surely helps boosting the established, experienced manufacturers in that market.